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A manly form at her side she saw, And joy was duty and love was law. Then she took up her burden of life again, Saying only, 'It might have been'.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Each crisis brings its word and deed.
John Greenleaf Whittier
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We seemed to see our flag unfurled,Our champion waiting in his placeFor the last battle of the world,The Armageddon of the race.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
So fallen! so lost! the light withdrawnWhich once he wore;The glory from his gray hairs goneFor evermore!
John Greenleaf Whittier -
To eat the lotus of the NileAnd drink the poppies of Cathay.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Press bravely onward! - not in vain Your generous trust in human kind; The good which bloodshed could not gain Your peaceful zeal shall find.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
The Night is Mother of the Day,The Winter of the Spring,And ever upon old DecayThe greenest mosses cling.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Perish with him the folly that seeks through evil good.
John Greenleaf Whittier
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Alas for maiden, alas for Judge, For rich repiner and household drudge! God pity them both! and pity us all, Who vainly the dreams of youth recall; For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: 'It might have been!'
John Greenleaf Whittier -
The harp at Nature's advent strungHas never ceased to play;The song the stars of morning sungHas never died away.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Strike! Thou the Master, we Thy keys,The anthem of the destinies!The minor of Thy loftier strain,Our hearts shall breathe the old refrain -'Thy will be done!'
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Maud Muller, on a summer's day, Raked the meadows sweet with hay. Beneath her torn hat glowed the wealth Of simple beauty and rustic health.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Low stir of leaves and dip of oarsAnd lapsing waves on quiet shores.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
What is good looking, as Horace Smith remarks, but looking good? Be good, be womanly, be gentle,-generous in your sympathies, heedful of the well-being of all around you; and, my word for it, you will not lack kind words of admiration.
John Greenleaf Whittier
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Beauty seen is never lost.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
We lack but open eye and earTo find the Orient's marvels here;The still small voice in autumn's hush,Yon maple wood the burning bush.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Yet sometimes glimpses on my sight,Through present wrong the eternal right;And, step by step, since time began,I see the steady gain of man;
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Better heresy of doctrine than heresy of heart.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
All hearts confess the saints elect,Who, twain in faith, in love agree,And melt not in an acid sectThe Christian pearl of charity!
John Greenleaf Whittier -
Weary lawyers with endless tongues.
John Greenleaf Whittier
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Nature speaks in symbols and in signs.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
The Beauty which old Greece or RomeSung, painted, wrought, lies close at home.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
As yonder tower outstretches to the earthThe dark triangle of its shade aloneWhen the clear day is shining on its top;So, darkness in the pathway of man's lifeIs but the shadow of God's providence,By the great Sun of wisdom cast thereon;And what is dark below is light in heaven.
John Greenleaf Whittier -
I know not where His islands liftTheir fronded palms in air;I only know I cannot driftBeyond His love and care.
John Greenleaf Whittier